Bassil: We’ll Unify Figures upon which Negotiations on Leasing Power-Generating Ships Will Be Based

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil stressed on Monday the need to “unify facts and figures” regarding the negotiations with companies over leasing power-generating vessels.

He said: “We have placed the scientific and logical rules upon which negotiations will be based.”

He made his remarks after a meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with following up the leasing of the power-generating ships.

“We have clearly stated that the technical committee, which includes representatives from the premier, ministers, and an international consultant, will unify the facts and figures ahead of the negotiations,” added Bassil.

He hoped that this matter would be resolved quickly and that a report on the issue would be complete for Tuesday in order to allow meetings on the case to be held on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sources had told the daily An Nahar on Monday: “The meeting of the ministerial committee tasked with following up the leasing of the power-generating vessels set to negotiate the costs (to reach reasonable prices) might not reach any results.”

Bassil said during an interview on Sunday with al-Jadeed TV that the negotiations with the two companies that won the tenders, a Turkish and American company, will not lead anywhere.

He lashed out at Premier Najib Miqati, saying that the numbers he presented concerning the costs of building a new power plant are not accurate.

A source close to the PM told As Safir newspaper that Bassil shouldn’t foresee the results of the negotiations with the two companies.

“Miqati wants the electricity crisis solutions to be transparent and based on principles,” ministerial sources told al-Liwaa newspaper.

The sources said that the committee meeting at the Grand Serail is expected to resolve the negotiations with the two companies in order to reach a reasonable price.

Concerning the reports saying that the American company General Electric had proposed to construct a power plant in Lebanon, As Safir newspaper said that the company didn’t submit any official proposal.

Sources told the daily that one of GE’s directors, who has ties with Miqati, had suggested that the company might be able to offer its help and construct a power plant in a year or less.

Media reports had said that Miqati was advocating a proposal by GE to construct a power plant at the cost of $500 million.

Lebanon has long suffered from electricity outages because of shortages at its power plants whose maximum capacity is less than 1,500 megawatts but the country’s actual need exceeds 2,300 megawatts.